Chapter 3: The PRC's Japan Policy Within the Context of its Analysis of Global Contradictions: 1968–1972

In Chapter 1, it was argued that the PRC's policy towards Japan was closely related to its analysis of the world situation, especially to the evolution of its relations with the Soviet Union and the US. In the “leaning to one side” era in the early 1950s, the PRC and the Soviet Union closely co-ordinated their Japan policies, but as differences between the two Communist countries gradually emerged, the PRC was forced to deal with Japan without Soviet support. After 1958, the Chinese leaders decided to normalize Sino-Japanese relations on an overall basis, rejecting the step-by-step approach. A breakthrough appeared likely in the early 1960s, but it never materialized. Progress in Sino-Japanese relations was subsequently affected adversely by the escalation of the Vietnam War and the Cultural Revolution…